Quick UK visas possible for all Pakistanis
ISLAMABAD – Pakistanis planning to visit the United Kingdom for any reason can get their visas as early as a single business day.
Acting British High Commissioner to Pakistan Andrew Dalgleish told The Nation that the service is available for all types of eligible applicants.
Under the priority visa service, the process takes 3-5 days, while for Super Priority Visa applicants, this speeds up to a single business day. The fee is for service only and the applicant must meet all requirements to be successful.
“The applicants have to pay a little more to avail this service. It is available for those who want to receive quick decision for any reason,” the envoy said.
In a previous interview with The Nation, the envoy had said: “We have introduced quick service where the applicant has to pay a little more for faster process.
There is also a superfast service for even quicker processing.” He mentioned that study visas were being approved at a remarkably high ratio. “The tourism has also improved after the Covid-19 pandemic,” Andrew Dalgleish added.
This month, former British High Commissioner Dr Christian Turner said in a pre-departure interview that the issuance rate of UK student visas from Pakistan was remarkably high at 97 percent.
Official records suggest, the total number of UK visit visas issued to Pakistani nationals increased by 18 percent in 2022.
The UK Home Office’s immigration figures revealed that 2022 was the second consecutive year during which the number of visas issued to Pakistani applicants went up significantly.
A large number of Pakistanis live in the UK which makes it an attractive place for Pakistani visitors, students and businesspersons.
According to the 2021 Census, Pakistanis in England and Wales enumerated 1,587,819, or 2.7 percent of the population.
The Pakistan government’s Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis estimates that 1.26 million Pakistanis eligible for dual nationality live in the UK, constituting well over half of the total number of Pakistanis in Europe.
Up to 250,000 Pakistanis come to the UK each year, for work, to visit or other purposes. Likewise, up to 270,000 British citizens travel to Pakistan each year, mainly to visit families.
Excluding British citizens of Pakistani descent, the number of individuals living in the UK with a Pakistani passport was estimated at 188,000 in 2017, making Pakistan the eighth most common non-British nationality in the UK.
Article source: https://www.nation.com.pk/28-Jan-2023/quick-uk-visas-possible-for-all-pakistanis